Super middleweight prospect Misael Rodriguez defeated Ricardo Banuelos Cernas this past Saturday night at the Arena Corner Sport in his hometown of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for Rodriguez, who improved to 14-0, 7 knockouts.

Rodriguez looked rusty from the opening bell, and his timing was a bit off. It was during the fourth round that Rodriguez began to find a rhythm and was able to outbox Banuelos, who came to win and had his moments during the fight.

The 29-year-old Rodriguez, who represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympic Games was able to utilize his pedigree to grind out the decision. 

Rodriguez had not fought since March 4 of last year, a decision victory over Aaron Rocha Guerrero. The fight was on a Matchroom Boxing card, but most of Rodriguez’s pro fights were under the Promociones del Pueblo and Premier Boxing Champions banner. 

The win over Banuelos was his debut with Zanfer Boxing Promotions.

Trainer Robert Garcia was pleased with Rodriguez’s performance, although he did acknowledge Rodriguez did struggle early on. Garcia is confident Rodriguez will continue to improve and become a contender at 168 pounds.

“Misael had been out of the ring for (over) a year, so you could see that his performance wasn’t as we expected, but he will do better in his next fight,” Garcia told BoxingScene Wednesday morning. “Good thing we got this one out of the way.”

Banuelos, who resides in Tultitlan, Mexico, falls to 18-9-1, 7 KOs. The 35-year-old has lost three of his last four bouts.

In an upset on paper on the Zanfer Boxing Promotions card, Jorge Garcia Perez of Los Mochis, Mexico improved to 25-4, 21 KOs by knocking out Hector Andres Reyes in the seventh round. Reyes, who resides in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, entered the bout with an unbeaten record of 21-1, 16 KOs.  

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingsScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing